Once the Lord has spoken
Psalms 62:11 is nothing short of revelatory. In this verse, we learn that God when speaking to us, repeats Himself. The NLT version reads, “God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times. Power oh God belongs to you.” Other versions read “twice have I heard this.” For the benefit of our mortal minds, God will say something once and repeat it again and again. For the avoidance of doubt. That is Abba’s nature.
Clearly the Psalmist was well versed in the ways of God, and had experienced the nature of His confirmations. Have you ever been immersed in a Bible study session and had the Holy spirit highlight certain scriptures? As profound and amazing as that experience is given the scriptures will likely speak to your present situation, I have noticed that God will often repeat what He has already put in my heart concerning the matter. Indeed the different Bible verses the Holy spirit highlights usually go on to emphasise the same thing over and over. Then I know, without a doubt, my Father is speaking to me loud and clear.
Today we cover the topic of confirmations. How does God confirm His word? How do you gain a sense of comfort that you indeed heard from our father whenever you believe this to be the case? In my experience, there is a clear pattern God follows when He is getting a message across to me : I will receive the word, and He will confirm it a number of times within a short space of time.
It is safe to say that any woman in our tribe, be it wife -in-waiting or wife-in-making, has come to a place of understanding that she must take God along on this journey with her. This marriage thing, it’s a God thing and our father must be involved. I know for many of us, we have been so scarred by traumatic past events at the hands of callous men that we have resolved, if God doesn’t speak concerning a man, then we will not move. For how can we put our precious selves in the hands of a man who God has not vetted? A man who does not submit to the father’s authority? That’s a great place to be, that place where you KNOW your husband-to-be must be God’s choice for you. In this frame of mind you also know that our father will speak to you to confirm what He is saying and clarify the direction in which He is leading you.
I always found it quite puzzling whenever I heard women who had heard God concerning their marriages say “God gave me confirmations.” As exciting a thought as that was, as I watched the video testimonies I would experience an anticlimax as they never did go on to explain exactly what those confirmations looked like. Having had the divine privilege of receiving multiple confirmations regarding this and other situations in my life, I can now explain and give some examples of what these confirmations look like. For anyone curious, stay tuned.
Triple confirmation - Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
One crisp September morning, I was sat at my desk working away on my laptop. I have a habit of having YouTube videos on in the background while I type away, to keep my day interesting I guess. Suddenly, a video from a man of God who has his ministry on Youtube popped up in my feed, “Signs God will give you when He’s bringing two people together.” I watched the video and as I did so, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. In an instant, I felt tired of waiting on the promise of marriage, scared that this would never happen for me. Tears blurring my vision, I began to scroll through the comments section. With a heavy heart and through big fat droplets of salty tears, I liked a comment someone made, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you.”
Suddenly I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to look at my phone. I have a Bible App on which I receive daily scripture, and as I picked up my phone, I saw a notification of the word of the day. Matthew 6:33, it read, “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”. Instantly I felt comforted and I uttered a thank you to God.
Later that evening, I found msyelf watching yet another YouTube video. I don’t know why or how I clicked on it as frankly speaking, by that point I was quite tired of hearing marriage testimonies ! The interviewer was speaking to Devon Franklin and Megan Good concerning how God had brought them together. In a split second my mind drifted off as I recalled events earlier that morning. Thinking out loud, I said “seek ye first the Kingdom of God,” then repeated “seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” I kid you not, no sooner had I uttered it the second time than did Devon Franklin say “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you.” I knew then without a doubt God was crystallising the scripture in my mind. From that day on, I took its meaning quite literally as I realised this was one of my instructions to be followed before the promise of marriage materialises.
The triple confirmation often happens in a very short space of time and in mine and other people’s experience, it usually involves different forms of media. In this case, it was a combination of YouTube (Yes, God can and does speak to us through social media), a Bible App and a testimony. Once my father has spoken, twice have I heard.
Scriptural reference - Jeremiah 33
Sometimes a confirmation from God will come in the form of your spirit hearing (and not through you reading or watching a sermon or video concerning) scriptural reference. You will hear it loud and clear and your spirit will stir; this is what people mean when they say God will lay scripture on your heart. Again this happened to me during one of my mini melt downs some months after the incident above. It had been a tough day I admit, wading through my challenging job coupled with the many desolate thoughts trying to hold me captive that day. I remember thinking how nice it would be to have someone I could speak to about everything, share my highs and lows with. Not that I’m discounting God here, I mean someone human. I countered my sad thoughts with scripture and worship but I do recall feeling extremely exhausted by evening. Anyway as I went to bed and settled down to midnight prayers, I typed ‘Yeshua ’ in my YouTube search bar. The most beautiful worship song came up - I’d encourage you to listen to it here - Yeshua | Jesus Image Worship | Meredith Mauldin | Michael Koulianos | Jesus ‘19 - YouTube. All of a sudden the floodgates opened and I released all the pain, doubt and turmoil in my place of worship.
The next day being a Friday, I settled down on my couch in the evening to watch a movie and then study the Bible for a bit. That evening, it was as though God was anxious to tell me something. Honestly it was very highly connected to my wailing episode in the prayer closet the night before, calling out the name of Yeshua in between great big heaving sobs! Yes, God is indeed a loving father. I watched a terrible movie that added absolutely nothing to my life. (Side bar : that was the day I decided Netflix is not in fact a whole entire vibe!) The second the movie ended and I reached out for my hot pink NLT, I heard loud and clear in my spirit “Jeremiah 33.” I really can’t explain how I heard it, all I know is I heard it. Straight away I flicked to the scripture for I knew my father was speaking. Two verses leaped at me : Jeremiah 33: 3 “Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come”, and Jeremiah 33: 10 - 11, “This is what the Lord says : You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!’
I knew then God was assuring me, asking me to hold on to the things He has promised me concerning my marital destiny. It is not what it looks like in the natural; He has sight of the whole playing field whilst I can only see a tiny glimpse. I felt comforted that I had indeed heard Him right in the past.
Our God is faithful and He repeats Himself for our benefit. The next morning I woke up at 6 am and, as you do, started to scroll through YouTube videos. I somehow clicked on a ‘random’ video titled “How God confirmed my husband was the one.” As the beautiful woman of God was sharing her testimony, she said in one segment “I was reading the bible and God gave me Jeremiah 33:3.” I felt a stirring in my spirit and I just knew that was for me. Mere days later, I clicked on another random video, “How I knew my husband was the one.” I’m laughing as it must sound as though that content is all I was consuming at that point but in actual reality, it was more like this type of video once a week, if that. Anyway this beautiful woman of God was also led to Jeremiah 33 : 10 to 11, and as soon as I heard that I knew I had my triple confirmation.
Now I know someone out in internet-sphere is jumping at the bit to to come at me with that whole “oh, but the YouTube algorithm” argument. Honestly,sis - I am good. I know as I know my name that this was from God and guess what, the Bible clearly tells us some things when dealing with God cannot be explained. Once has my father spoken, twice have I heard.
Hold on to the promise
I have listed above two examples but honestly, confirmations come in ways that are too many to count. Everyone’s experience will be personal, but you can always back up what God is saying with scripture. (Now I do have to insert a caveat here as even the devil can quote scripture perfectly! It is recommended that we look to the underlying fruits borne by that situation, and that we test the spirits behind it. ) You could be driving and a truck ahead of you has a bumper sticker with a Bible verse you’ve been ‘hearing’ in your spirit. A friend could ‘randomly’ share a link to a song with your rhema or God’s promises. In the exact moment you’re wondering whether the man God has shown you is indeed your husband, God could give you a triple confirmation (social media, YouTube, a blog post, a rhema word, a billboard, or even the man himself unknowingly - lol!- texting you and speaking what God just told you. Yes this does in fact happen!)
The signature of confirmations is the number of times you see or hear the same thing, the short space of time in which it occurs and that stirring as your spirit bears witness. It is a knowing - a deep knowing and assurance that this is God speaking to you. After all, His sheep know His voice and they hear Him when they speak. Another hallmark is the seemingly coincidental way in which things happen which we of course know has nothing to do with coincidence. Holy spirit is the culprit! Basically, the hand of God is all over the matter and it’s crystal clear. God is also so kind to us that He gives us confirmations even when we don’t ask! On occasion, a sad thought has crossed my mind and voila! Quite unexpectedly, God speaks.
Many of you amazing women will have had confirmations from God concerning your marriages. He may have shown you the man and you are just waiting on the fullness of time. For others, He may be asking you to hold on and work on yourself but assuring you the promise is nigh. And for those who may not have received any confirmations yet, I would encourage you to ask our father. Ask Him to begin to interact with you as concerns your marital settlement and He will come through. God wants to guide us in this area, He longs to be a part of our everyday lives and decisons. Receiving confirmations is a beautiful thing, it gives one that sense of closeness with God. He also does it in such funny, unexpected ways you’ll catch yourself laughing often. Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts once said that throughout her relationship with her husband pastor Toure Roberts, she was in awe and her jaw kept hitting the floor as God confirmed that this man was indeed her husband.
The key thing to remember is God will confirm His word to give us clarity and direction, to comfort us and also to ask us to hold on to the promise. Queue the faithing doubting waiting process which can be quite a nail-biting experience! Just remember, hold steadfast in prayer and in love - there’s a pot of gold at the rainbow’s end. Welcome to the rollercoaster ladies, and brace yourselves for the beautiful ride ahead !